The present invention relates to an improved, deodorizing litter for poultry farms. Litter is a cover provided for the floor or earth area upon which fowl are raised and receives the droppings from the fowl. Litter plays a very important part in the modern poultry raising industry. Litter contributes to the production of healthier poultry, lower condemnation rates and higher weight gain, which are factors which have a positive effect on the economics of the grower. Poultry litter presently in general use is comprised of particulate cellulosic materials, such as wood shavings, wood chips, sugar cane bagasse or straw. Frequently, such litters are a source of bacteria, molds, toxic residues or harmful gases. While the present invention will be described in terms of chicken raising, it will be understood that it is equally applicable to other gallinaceous birds, for example, turkeys, ducks and pheasants.
Most everyone has at one time or another experienced an encounter with bird excrement, usually on a small scale. On a large scale, poultry droppings and the resulting ammonia are a problem to the present day poultry farmers who raise flocks numbering from thousands to hundreds of thousands of birds in a relatively confined enclosure. The excrement from such flocks soon covers the entire floor area of the enclosure. Although initially somewhat innocuous, being about 75 percent by weight water and having a neutral pH, the warm droppings rapidly undergo zymosis, emitting noxious gases, such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, and a rank odor. In the summer months, the gases and odor may be carried several miles, to the consternation and discomfort of neighbors of poultry farms. The problems of the grower are compounded in the cooler winter months as the confining area, typically a chicken or brooder house, is maintained as closed as possible to conserve heat and maintain a necessary warm environment for the fowl. However, the level of gases, such as ammonia, and the odor of decaying excrement makes substantial ventilation necessary with consequent loss of heat. Ammonia becomes highly noticeable to the poultry house worker when the concentration reaches 20 parts per million (ppm). The eyes and nasal passages of workers become irritated at ammonia concentrations above about 40 ppm. Broiler weight is affected when ammonia concentrations reach 50 ppm. Research has demonstrated that at 49 days of age, broilers exposed to such levels of ammonia average almost 0.4 pounds lighter than their counterparts grown in environments free, or substantially free, of ammonia. Under conditions of high (over 50 ppm) ammonia concentrations, the egg-laying rate of chickens has been found to be reduced by about 30 percent.
Various means have previously been proposed to alleviate or eliminate the odor and gaseous products of bird droppings. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,776,188 and 3,898,324 describe a litter containing ferrous sulfate heptahydrate mixed with fly ash or zeolite powder. While such litter is a great improvement over no litter at all, such litters are not satisfactory in commercial use because of their relatively short life. The floor life of such mixtures is usually about 10 days. This means that the used litter must be topped or that it must be taken up, a chore unto itself, and new litter spread over the floor area, several times during the raising of a flock from chicks to broilers.
The particulate litter product of the present invention is easier handling, more efficient and longer lasting than the prior art litter mixtures. The present litter product provides an improved environment for raising healthier and higher quality poultry. The present litter allows a reduction in ventilation in colder climates, saving energy and maintaining a warmer poultry house which keeps litter drier with less caking and less need for fresh litter.